Embroidering attachment.



C. STAFFORD.

EMBROIDERING ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26. 1913,

1,1245? Patented July 20, 1915.

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i i I CHARLES STAFFORD, OF ELIZABETH, JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

EMBROIDERING- ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 26,1913. 1 Serial No. 803,115.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Embroidering Attachments, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. 7

This invention has for its object to provide an embroidery-thread looper which shall be eflective in operation and easily and cheaply constructed.

Heretofore, as employed in embroldering attachments of the type represented in the United States Patent to G. W. Baker, No. 297,100, of April .22, 1884, the oscillatory and endwise-movablelooper has been constructed with a shank forked at its operative end to form two eccentrically disposed thread-fingers integral therewith of which one has a thread-aperture adjacent the outer end and a second apertureat its opposite end leading at an inclination with the loopershank to a point at the base of the fork 1ntermediate said fingers, and the looper has required to be otherwise shaped at the base .of said fork for proper handling of the needle-thread by which the loops of embroidery thread were stitched upon the face of the fabric.

According to the present improvement in its preferred form, the looper is formed of a straight pin reduced and flattened near one end to form a shouldered boss beyond which it is further reduced to form an axial thread-finger. Upon this flattened boss is fitted and secured by riveting the correspondingly apertured end portion of a bent sheet-metal plate in the form of a punching having adjacent the opposite end and lntermediate the ends additional apertures to receive and guide the embroidery thread. This plate has its thread-apertured outer portion bent into substantial parallelism with the unapertured finger from which it is suificiently spaced to freely admit the needle of the stitching, mechanism and to provide sufficient lengths of embroidery thread to produce coils or loops of the requisite size for attachment to the fabric by the fastening stitches. The bend in the apertured plate is of such curvature and arrangement that after lateral deflection of the stitching thread leading from the. fabric to the needle bytheoscillation of the eyed finger thus formed the subsequent feeding of the work changes the lead of the stitching thread from the fabricin such manner that it slips around such bend, thus serving as a needlethread cast-01f, and assumes a position back of the needle-point so as to insure the proper laying-ofthestitches. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a front end elevation of an, embroidery attachment constructed in accordance with the present improvement, withthe needle-bar and presserbar of a sewingmachine to which it isattached. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views representing in different stages of operation the cooperation of the needle with the embroiderysthread looper. Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing respectively the shank portion of the looper having the integral axial thread-finger and the eyed finger detached therefrom. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the apertured sheet-metal plate from which the eyed finger is formed.

The frame of the attachment comprises the plate 1 having means for fastening it to the presser-bar and provided with the depending presser-foot shank 2 and foot-plate 3 and with the standard 4 carryingthe stud 5. Fulcrumed upon the stud-5 is the swinging lever 6 carrying the lateral stud-pin? intermediate its ends and provided'at its lower end with the forked extremity 8. Also fulcrumedupon the stud 5 is the swinging llever 9 provided nearits lower end with the lateral pin 10 and having dependingfrom a lateral extension thereof the bent forkll.

Journaled upon thefulcrum-stud-12 sustained by an extensionof the standard l is the angular operating lever provided with a lateral arm 13 formed with the fork 14 ema bracing the needle-clamp stud 15. upon the lower extremity of the sewing machine needle-bar 16 and provided intermediate itsends with an enlargement containing the transverse cam-slot 17 einbracingfthe studpin 7 of the lever 65. The operating lever has a depending arm I18 provided with a fork 19 loosely embracingthe pin 10 ofthe lever 9. In the reciprocation of the needle- .bar the levers 6 and 9 are given differential swinging movements; 'The lateral member 20 of the frame is formed with an apertured bearing lug 21 in which is journaled the reduced v rearward portion 22 of the looper rock-shaft formed with the flattened and spirally twisted middle portion 23 embraced by the fork 11 of the lever 9 and provided at its forward extremity with the cylindrical socket portion 24 having an annular groove entered by the fork 8 of the lever 6. Secured within the socket of the part 2 L by means of the set-screw 25 is the cylindrical shank 26 of the looper which is journaled within an aperture in the presser-foot shank 2.

The looper is in the form of a straight pin reduced near its forward end to form the shouldered and flattened boss 27 and is further reduced beyond the same to form the embroidery-thread spreading finger 28 which is shown slightly tapered and provided with a rounded extremity to facilitate retraction from the embroidery-thread loops. The laterally oflset or eccentric eyed embroiderythread carrying finger 29 is in the formof a flat plate with its shank portion 30 bent at substantially a right angle with the operative portion and provided with an elongated aperture 31 fitted upon the flattened boss 27 to which this finger is preferably secured by riveting over the end of such boss. The finger 29 is formed with the transverse thread-eyes 32 and 33 disposed respectively at its outer end and adjacent the bend at the heel thereof.

The eyed or thread-carrying looper-finger is preferably formed of a sheet-metal punching with the round and elongated apertures at the ends and the round aperture intermediate the ends produced by punching, as represented in Fig. 8; while the reduced axial portions of the pin 26 may be turned in a manner well known and the part 27 sub sequently flattened in case it is desired to provide positive locking means to prevent the shifting of the eyed thread-finger around the nonapertured thread-finger. The threadfingers of the looper are spaced apart to freely admit the sewing needle 34: between them in the stitching operation and to dis tend the embroidery-thread between them to form loops or coils of the requisite size for the ornamental seam, and the bend in the plate 29 30 is of such curvature and arrangement as to constitute this intermediate part of the looper element a needle-thread castofl', as will later appear.

In threading the attachment for operation the embroidery thread 6 is led from the source of supply through the aperture 35 of an ear 36 of the plate 37 secured upon the arm 13 of the operating lever, thence upwardly through the thread-eye 38 sustained by the fulcrum-stud 5 and downwardly through the eye 39 of a second car 40 of the plate 37 between the latter and the free end of a U-shaped nipper-spring 41 having an apertured flange entered and clamped in position by the screw-stud 12. From the eye 39 the thread is led through an aperture 42 in the lateral lug 43 of the resser-foot shank to the inner face of the thread-finger 29 and through the eye 33 at the heel and finally through the delivery eye 32 at the extremity of the thread-finger from which it is led to the face of the work.

In the operation of the device, upon the rise of the needle at the completion of a stitch, the looper advances and projects the axial finger 28 beyond and to one side of the needle-thread t, with the eyed and eccentrically arranged thread-finger 29 at the farther side from the stitching thread, as represented in Fig. 3. At the completion of an advance movement of the looper it receives a semi-rotation which throws the eyed thread-finger over against the needlethread to deflect the same laterally from the needle-path and at the same time bends the portion of embroidery-thread between the delivery eye of such finger and the work over the axial finger 28 to form an embroidery thread-loop, as represented in Fig. 1. The subsequent feed of the work longitudinally of the looper brings that limb of the embroidery-loop attached to the Work rearward of the needle-point while the other limb is in front of the same, as represented in Fig. 5; and at the same time the lead of the needle-thread to the work is so shifted endwise of the looper-shank that its middle portion is caused to slip backwardly on the curved cast-off portion of the eyed threadfinger so as to position it rearward of the point of the needle to insure against the descent of the needle in a loop of its own thread. As the point of the needle descends below the upper limb of the embroiderythread loop the looper recedes to initial retracted position and leaves the embroidery thread loop around it to be bound upon the face of the fabric m by the strand of needle-thread then extending from the needle-eye to the work. As will be observed by reference to Figs. 3, 4C and 5, the advance of the looper is timed to occur just asthe point of the rising needle leaves the work, the crossover movement of the eyed thread finger occurring while the needle is still rising, and the descent of the needle for a new stitch occurring just after the embroidery-thread loop has been distended by the feeding movement to embrace the needlepath, as indicated by the arrows in the several figures.

Heretofore, with the integral construction of the looper with its two eccentrically disposed thread-fingers, great care has been required in shaping the different parts to properly handle the embroidery and stitching threads and in drilling the inclined aperture at the heel of the eyed threadfinger, involving hand work to such extent as to bring the cost of the looper to exceed the combined cost of all other parts of the attachment. By the present improvement, as above described, Wire of the requisite size may be selected for the looper shank and automatically turned in a monitor lathe to form the axial thread-finger and adjacent boss to receive the additional looper member; the latter being cut out by punching from sheet-metal in the form represented in Fig. 8, and subsequently shaped by means of suitable dies in readiness for riveting upon the boss of the shank member, thereby almost Wholly dispensing With hand Work and insuring absolute uniformity in both the dimensions and shapes of the component parts, and reducing the cost of the looper to a small fraction of that of the older form of looper.

While the axial thread-finger integral With the cylindrical looper-shank is an important feature of the improvement by means of Which this portion of the looper may be automatically turned into the proper form, a still more important part of the present construction is the employment of a separate sheet-metal plate, capable of being shaped merely by the use of suitable dies, so that no drilling, filing or polishing is required in order to provide the necessary thread-eyes and the proper needle-thread cast-off at the heel or base of the eyed thread-finger.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, What I claim herein is 1. A looper for embroidering attachments comprising a'pin reduced at one end to form an axial thread-finger and an adjacent Copies of this patent may be'obtained for shoulder, and angular plate apertured j and secured upon the reduced portion of said pin adjacent said shoulder and having an operative portion arranged atthe side of and spaced from said thread-finger and eyed to receive an embroidery thread.

2. A looper for embroidering attachments comprising a pin reduced at one end to;

form an angular boss and'an axial threadfinger extending therefrom, and an angular plate apertured to fit and secured upon said boss and provided With aportion arranged at the side of and spaced from said threadnnger and eyed to receive an embroidery thread.

3. A looper for embroidering attachments comprising a pin reduced at one-end to form an axial thread-finger and an. adjacent shoulder, and an angular plate apertured and secured upon the reduced portion of said pin adjacent said shoulder and having an operative portion arranged at the side of and spaced from'said thread-finger and eyed to receive an embroidery thread, said plate being bent intermediate its angularly disposed portions to form an external needle-thread cast-off surface at the heel of the eyed portion. I I

In testimony whereof, I have signed' my name to this specification, in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

, CHARLES STAFFORD.

Witnesses: l I

HENRY J. MILLER, HENRY A. KORNEMANN, Jr. 

